Well, I just put the kettle on. So, while I am waiting for water to boil for my morning cup of tea, lets talk. I had the hardest time choosing between two pieces of scripture from Matthew Chapter 11 this morning. Both verses really spoke to me. So, while we may discuss one in detail I still feel led to share the other one with you. Here it is: Matthew Chapter 11:19 – “…But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”

Scripture

Matthew Chapter 11:28 – Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Observation

This verse is simple and pretty straight forward, in my opinion. Yet, many times as christians I think we forget or we let other things get in the way of coming to God. This verse is not just for christians though, it is also for those that are searching for God.

Application

As christians let us remember to pray for God to help us in our struggles so that we can enjoy his promises of love, peace, healing and rest. This way we are more able to help with the harvest and pray and do for others that are burdened from a life without God.

Prayers

Oh Lord God almighty, you are an awesome God. Please forgive me for thinking so many times that I don’t need you and I can do it all by myself. Help me to remember that you can do all things big and tiny. Lord, thank you for the times I do remember to come to you first and during those times for helping me with your wisdom and strength. Please Lord continue to open my heart to your Word and pray give me the words in my daily life for my testimony. I love you Lord, mold me and make me.

Amen.

As I prayed this morning, I was reminded of so many wonderful praise songs. I thank the Lord for the talented people that he has given words to their lips so that I may praise him and my heart be lifted up.

Celebrate Earth day and stop by your local Lowe’s and get your free tree. April 23rd, Lowe’s is going to give away 1 million trees. Call your local store for more details.

Thank you ~Happy, for the heads up.

Good morning all! I wanted to apologize of late, I have been falling behind in my day to day posts of “Blogging through the Gospels”. I have been having some back problems that is in turn giving me migraines. So, I would ask if you wouldn’t mind keeping me in your prayers. Thank you.

Scripture

Matthew Ch:10:42 – And, if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.

Observation

How much we love God can be measured by how we treat others. How many times have I seen a person in need and passed them by because of my selfish nature (excuses – I am too busy, they don’t deserve it, they have wronged me, they never say thank you or please, etc.). Jesus, example of giving a cup of cold water to a child is a great model of unselfish service. A child usually can’t or won’t return a favor.

Application

What we do for others in this world is all that matters. So all that is precious is time. Spending that time wisely in service to God is the most important thing we can do. We can never be too busy to do God’s work and no matter who the person is, they needs God’s love. Is there something unselfish I can do for someone today?

Prayer

Lord, I come to you asking for forgiveness for my selfish behavior. I ask for your mercy and help in squashing my excuses and selfishness. Help me to recognize others needs and give me the strength and ability to help them. Please open my heart and mind to the love you have and let that love flow through me. Thank you Lord for loving me, your great mercy astounds me. I love you and thank you for your Word.

Amen.

How much water do you drink a day? I figured up the other day that between nursing a baby, possible kidney failure, and the normal how much everyone needs to drink at my age and size, that I need somewhere around 120 ounces a day. Dang tooting, that is a lot of water! Well, for me anyway. So, to get that much water into my day I thought I would have a certain cup that I kept with me all day and when I finished drinking it I would refill it as the day went on and stop when I had drank the 120 ounces that I needed. Well, that didn’t work for me, because either I would forget to refill or a baby would cry, you know whatever. So, Geek Adonis had this great idea of having ever how many water bottles it would take to get me to 120 ounces a day and fill the them up first thing in the morning and then drink them as the day went on. This works very well for me. It is almost like a checklist. I line them all up in a row on the kitchen table in the morning and know that the last one needs to be empty before I go to bed each night. Now, granted there have been a few times that at 4pm., I still have 3 bottles left to drink.

So, along with drinking this water I decided to try out a few different kinds of bottles.

Here are the three different types I tried. Just in case you are looking for a new water bottle just like I did, I thought I would give my opinion on each one of these.

While in the past, I have always loved Nalgene bottles, especially for their toughness, I honestly dislike this one the most. I have in the past used their big mouth screw on lid bottles for when I go hiking, but for at home and for the ease of it, I decided to try this version bottle. The green circle on the lid is the push button and while it opens easily, it does not close easily and it makes me feel like I am going to break it each time I try to close it.

I have never tried Aladdin bottles before, so I gave it a try. I neither love nor hate it. It works I suppose. The flip top is a tight fit which is good, so it does not open easy or close easy like a push button, but when I say does not open easy, I suppose it is no harder than say opening a refrigerator door.

This one is my absolute favorite! I love the design work on it, it is not just any other bottle, plus it opens and closes like a charm. Oh, and it keeps my water cooler longer than the other two. So, five stars to THERMOS & Threadless for coming together and making one awesome bottle. (as I was editing this post, I realized that I didn’t give you a good shot of the artwork on the bottle, hmm may have to rectify that when the kids are not screaming for my attention)

All of them are dishwasher safe and leakproof!

I am in no way getting paid for this post (although,that would be super cool), I just thought some other water drinkers out there might benefit from my experiences before they run out to there local Target (which is where I bought all of mine) and buy a few water bottles.

Good morning. Don’t forget you can join in with me and Mom’s Toolbox as we blog through the Gospels.

Scripture

Matthew 9:37,38 – Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out more workers into his harvest field.”

Observation

God wants us to pray for more workers, for more people to spread his love and word. Many people are ready to give their lives to Christ if someone would just show them how.

Application

Often when we pray for something, God responds by using us. I know personally I have been given the chance to witness to other individuals a handful of times. It is something that definitely puts me outside of my comfort zone, but God will give us the tools and the timing we need in these situations. Be prepared for God to use you to show another person the way to him. Remember, when you feel small and useless, that God uses ordinary people to do his extraordinary work.

Pray

Lord, thank you for using me to do your work. Doing your work lifts me up and gives me great joy. Lord, as much as it frightens me, please continue to push me outside of my comfort zone and prepare my heart and mind for your work in the harvest. Lord, I pray that you give me the words in each situation and to not use my own. Lord, give me peace, wisdom, and a passion to do your will and your work. I love you Lord.

Amen

Good Morning fellow bloggers, readers, family, and friends. I pray that your day is blessed.

Scripture

Matthew 8:2
“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, ” Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean”.

Observation

Faith is a confidence or trust in the achievement of God’s will. I loved a story I heard recently of a young girl that started praying for the region she lived in, she prayed for a christian presence, for a large following of Jesus-Christ. Her name was Hope and for seven years she prayed before she ever noticed a difference. On the seventh year she heard of a large church that was being built named Hope Church. Do I have the faith to wait on God’s will no matter the outcome?

Application

For me faith comes the more I follow, read, obey, and walk with God. When, I step away from God even in the slightest my faith wanes, I have doubts and that is what Satan wants. Stay in God’s word, have quiet time with Him each day and ask Him to increase your faith in prayer. God’s miracles and answered prayers are as abundant today as they were in biblical times, let these times build your faith and trust in him.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for even the smallest of answered prayers. Thank you for showing little ole me your awesome power. Lord, help me not to worry because worry is lack of faith in you. Help me to lay all of my needs, desires, and requests at your feet and give me the faith to leave them at your feet. I love you Lord.

Amen.

Thank you so much to those that entered my first blog giveaway. I was so excited and cannot wait till the next one. To those of you that did not win, not to worry, the capes will soon be for sale on my etsy page (info to be posted soon on my Facebook page).

And, the winners are –
1. Deanna
2. Megan
3. Terri

Just a heads up, my next giveaway will be in May. It will be from another artist friend of mine, she is very talented and make some very cute items.

I will emailing the winners, so please look for an email from me in your box.

Good morning all.

Scripture

Matthew 7:1-2
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Observation

Sadly, when I truly examine myself I judge others a lot. I have a huge plank in my eye, I may need help pulling it out.

Application

I read in my life application study bible that, “the traits that bother us in others are often the habits we dislike in ourselves”. Wow, I have a lot of self examination to do. As you do your bible studies and examine yourself, do you ever want to make a list of the things you learn and have that list visible to where you see it everyday? I have wanted to stencil by bathroom in bible verses that have really impacted me. The life lessons like Matthew 7: 1 & 2, I should paint on my bedroom ceiling so that is the first thing I see every morning.

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for rolling me out of bed this morning. I prayed about your help on getting me out of bed in the mornings and you answered. Now, Lord, please give me the passionate attitude and a joyful heart about getting out of bed in the mornings. Thank you for your Word and the impact is has on my life. I pray that you help me to keep a tight lip and mind on judging others, to always examine myself Lord. Help me to build others up instead of tearing them down. Please forgive me for my babbling tongue. Thank you Lord so much for the mercy you have had on me and this huge plank in my eye. The more I read and delve into your scripture the more I realize how much you have to carry me. I hope to walk beside you more Lord. I love you Lord.

Amen.

I have been praying lately and asking God to give me the passion to really get into his word. So, I have been searching for different methods to read through the bible. I really like the “90 Day Challenge”, and want to do that when it comes back around. I have also been wanting to do the, “The Power of a Praying Wife”, with Stormie Omartian. There are a few other methods I still want to try and other studies I want to do. So, I thought I would just start at one and as the months and years go by share them with you and we can study and grow in God’s word together. So, please join me for Blogging Through the Gospels, a 14-week read and study of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John beginning Monday, April 4, and continuing through Sunday, July 10. Then, on Monday of July 11th, I will be starting the 90 day challenge and try reading the bible in 90 days. As that day draws nearer I will share more of what that entails or you can go to “Mom’s Tool Box” and begin the 90 day challenge with me.

Today’s Reading – Matthew Chapter 6

Scripture – scripture that I feel God is using to speak to me in today’s reading.
Matthew 6:7 “And, when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard for their many words”.

Observation

God knows what your going to say before you say it. God wants us to come to him with honesty and sincerity, not shallow repetitions.

Application

I know many times in the past I would come to God in prayer being nervous or without clear thought. I now start my prayers with asking God to help me clear my mind as I come to him in prayer. In my nervousness I think I did babble on and sometimes repeat things. Not to say that it is wrong to come to God many times with the same request – it is good to be persistent in your prayer. I think my problem was that I would come to God not prepared or ready so I would ask in prayer one thing and then ask the same thing just slightly rephrased like I was talking to a child and trying to explain things in different ways hoping that he would understand. Like I said earlier, God knows what your are going to say before you say it. So now before I come to God I try to clear my thoughts of everything other than what I need to pray to him about and keep it simple and straightforward.

I know there are times of urgent need that it may be hard to think clearly or your in a hair pulling situation with your kids and simple and straightforward are very far from your mind. This may be the time to pray for peace of mind, body, and heart the most. You realize in me saying this I am talking about myself right? Like I said, I TRY to clear my thoughts. I think this is why it is very important to start your day if you can before your kids wake up and spend some time alone with God and his word. (Matthew 6:6-But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.) When I do this I always have a better clearer day.

If you have a hard time with prayer right now on finding what to say, remember God’s pattern for prayer. (Matthew 6:9 -13)

1. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. This is a statement of praise and a commitment to hallow, or honor, God’s holy name. So praise him in prayer.
2. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. This is a reference to God’s spiritual reign and praying that God’s perfect purpose will be accomplished in this world and in our lives. So, pray for his work and will in this world.
3.Give us today our daily bread. We are acknowledging that God is our sustainer and provider. So, pray for your daily needs.
4.Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Forgive what is owed, whatever it may be. And, forgive what is owed us. So, pray to be forgiven and for help to forgive others.
5.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. God does not lead us into temptation, but sometimes allows us to be tested by them. We should pray to be delivered from the trying times. So, pray for help in our daily struggles.

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for your word and the time in your word this morning. Thank you for reminding me that getting up and starting my day with you is one of the most important things that I can do for me and my family. Help me with remembering not to do things in front of men, to do things for the glory of you. Please help me to remember that prayer does not need to be flowery and complicated, but simple. Please guide me in my prayers with you. This time with you it is important for me to talk & listen.

I love you Lord. Amen

I have been inspired by “The Ultimate Blog Party”, to do a small giveaway. This will be my first giveaway and I am a little excited and nervous. I am giving away – a duo kids cape & apron. It is 100% cotton and hand dyed. I am giving away three of them and whoever wins them, if you want me to, I will hand paint your son/daughter name or initials on it. My precious models decided to pose for me, so that you could see what you are winning.

He had a blast showing me just how the cape works!

Never having actually cooked on the stove before, she was a little disappointed that this was only a photo shoot.

To win, please leave a comment on my blog and the winning contestants will be chosen at random. (I will post the winners on 4/9/11)

(These are the colors of the cape/apron’s that you can choose from)

My husband made a good point, so I wanted to make sure everyone else understands too! I am giving away three cape/apron’s to three different people, not all three of them are going to the same person.